Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Route 926 bridge to close for 6 months starting in February
Traffic will be detoured for most of next year as PennDOT builds a new bridge across the Brandywine River at Route 926 near Pocopson Road.
About 175 people attended an Open House public meeting at Pocopson Elementary School Wednesday night, when PennDOT representatives announced the project would take a full year, but detours would span from February 2017 and conclude around Labor Day 2017.
“This is a very aggressive schedule,” said Frank
Eelis, project engineer at Gannett Fleming, Inc., the consulting firm working with PennDOT on the project
Eelis said contractors face a substantial fine of $3,000 per day for every day the project expands past Labor Day.
The original project, estimated at $9 million, was scheduled to start early last year, with a build time of 18 months. Now, officials are predicting traffic will only be detoured for six months.
The 78-year-old, fourspan bridge has been in need of repair for quite some time. The steel I-beam structure carries nearly 14,500 vehicles per day. It is 192 feet long and 26 feet wide. Tractor-trailers are prohibited on the bridge because of its condition, but some still use it anyway.
The new bridge will be 315 feet long with 5-foot shoulders in each lane. The bridge will be able to accommodate tractor-trailers with ease. Route 926 from Pocopson Road to Creek
Road will be raised substantially. It currently lies in a flood area.
Eelis said crews will work on the bridge six days a week for 10-hour days. “There will be people out there often working on this project,” he said.
The detour route will take traffic to Route 202, to Route 1, to Route 52 and back to Route 926. Creek Road can also be used as an unofficial detour, but it will be closed at Route 926 from mid-June to Labor Day, Eelis said.
The bridge project will impact bus runs at the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, but officials there have worked out a plan since the detour route has not changed.
A new traffic light will be constructed at the intersection of Pocopson Road and Route 52 to accommodate the increased traffic. It will remain after the project ends, Eelis said. An improved traffic signal will be erected at the intersection of Route 926 and Pocopson Road to include a right turn arrow. When completed, traffic will be able to make either a right or left turn from Route 926
to Pocopson Road during a train crossing. In addition, a CCTV camera will be installed at the intersection to enable the monitoring of traffic issues.
When finished the bridge will blend into the Brandywine Valley, Eelis said. It
will have an open railing, painted brown, with brown bridge beams. Guide rails will be painted brown as well.
During construction, motorists can get updates at www.pa926.com, or by Twitter at #PA926.